In Reply to: RE: So Rochberg's music is "an inevitably imperfect copy" therefore "even more disappointing"? posted by rbolaw on July 7, 2016 at 10:06:22:
. . . is that he set out to write IN THE STYLE OF other (tonal) composers. IOW, Rochberg's use of earlier styles is FAR more chameleon-like than Stravinsky's use of "Pergolesi" (or even Kreisler's "in the style of" pieces). And as I think we both agree, Stravinsky did NOT set out to write in the style of "Pergolesi" - he merely borrowed a few tunes.
To illustrate the difference, some listeners hear Rochberg's Symphony No. 5 as a virtual re-write of Mahler's Ninth (!), although I admit that I don't hear it that way myself (despite certain sections being extremely evocative of Mahler's work). I guess the point is that modern composers can follow older styles EXTREMELY closely without becoming "mere copyists" and yet without becoming "disappointingly different" and losing their appeal to a given audience just because their style isn't sufficiently original or up to date. Having said that, I must admit that I don't find Rochberg's Fifth Symphony particularly compelling! (Maybe the work is "disappointingly different" just to me!) ;-)
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Follow Ups
- The thing that makes Rochberg so controversial. . . - Chris from Lafayette 11:30:48 07/07/16 (0)